EDIT: I've reuploaded this chapter because the line breaks didn't work before and it was a leetle confusing. So the chapter itself hasn't changed, I've just slotted in the lines to make it more understandable xx

A/N – I'm soooo sorry I haven't updated in ages but I've had no free time and I haven't been inspired lately :(

I'd like to say a huge thank you to everybody who reviewed because they really make my day! And a special thank you to GeeGee47 because she kept bugging me to finish this chappie so it probably wouldn't be here without her :D

To answer Katie Felton's question, I don't have a specific day when I upload, it's usually at the weekend (I know today completely contradicts that) but whenever I can get something half decent written by. And if by TF you mean Tom Felton then I completely agree with you there!

Enjoy this (admittedly short) chapter xx

Chapter 8: University

The rest of the days passed uneventfully, but I couldn't have enjoyed them more. Having finally worked out the issues I had with my mother was a great weight to lift off my shoulders, and we got along well enough. Well, 'got along' was a bit of a stretch, but we were no longer at each others' throats which could only be a good thing. Every other moment was sheer bliss – Damon is the best companion I think I've ever had. Except for Stefan, perhaps. But I love Stefan differently to Damon. Stefan is sweet and thoughtful, and a real gentleman, and we have that special bond of childhood friendship that will never be broken.

But Damon is just...indescribable. Despite the fact we've only really known each other since I returned from the School of Hell, we can finish each other's sentences, and I've never felt such elation. He's witty and sarcastic and flirty and suggestive, but never pushy. Save for the awkward incident in his room – but even then he forgave my prudishness almost instantly.

However, all good things must come to an end – or so I'm told – and the news Damon gave to me one sunny Tuesday afternoon was enough to ruin my cheery spirit.

"Princess, do you remember Father mentioning – more than a few times – his wish for me to attend university?" he mumbled absentmindedly into my hair.

"Um...maybe... Yeah, I think so. Why?" In all honesty, I wasn't listening to his words as such, just his beautiful alluring drawl, and I smiled to myself as I interlocked our fingers.

It took him a while to reply; he sighed a couple of times then turned my head to gaze into my eyes. He said bluntly, "I'm going. Next week."

I was stunned. He was leaving me? Wait, I wasn't that girl who desperately needed a man by her side – whatever society may dictate. I don't need him as such; I just want him with me. A lot.

"I-you-what?" was all I could manage to get out in my astonishment.

"I'm going to the University of Virginia. I leave on Saturday night." Damon's tone was emotionless, reflecting the void I was beginning to feel inside. "I'm sorry, Princess, I truly am. I've argued with him so many times, but I can't persuade him to change his mind." He bit his lip and furrowed his brow and I had to take several deep breaths to steady my voice.

"It's...okay, Damon. It will be – it has to be! And besides, we can write, and visit each other and-and..." Deep breath. "And-" I couldn't continue talking because of the tears flowing freely down my cheeks.

With a feather-light touch he brushed the teardrops away gently, before pulling me into a tight embrace and burying his face in my hair. All too soon, he let go and spun me round to face him directly. "I love you, Alicia DiGrazio. And I always will. The three years will fly by, and before you know it, I'll be back and, providing you haven't gotten yourself married to some prat – cough, Russo, cough – then maybe, just maybe, you might find a diamond ring on your pretty little finger," he finished, stroking my left hand. His charcoal orbs stared into mine searchingly, as if checking to see if his promise was well received. And it was. As I didn't trust my shaky voice at the moment, I gave my seal of approval in the form of a kiss, to which Damon reacted almost violently. His protective hands cupped my face and pulled me closer, whilst pouring his soul into the passionate exchange. Tucking a stray lock of chocolate behind my ear, he trailed soft kisses down my jaw and I shivered in delight.

Fluttering my eyelids open slowly, I woke to find myself curled next Damon, and I could feel his chest rising and falling peacefully under my head. Disentangling myself carefully so I didn't wake him, I stood up and re-laced my bodice, thinking how angelic he looked when he slept. With a chaste kiss on his forehead, I yanked on my shoes and slowly walked back towards the DiGrazio manor.

"So you're just going to leave me half-dressed in a field? I expected more from you, Alicia," a musical drawl from behind me asked amusedly. I scowled at him and said, "I needed to get home and you were so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you."

"Hm. I might forgive you..." he mused, eyes twinkling.

"You better. I do really need to go, though. So I'll see you tomorrow?" I replied, rolling my eyes. At this, he scrambled up uncharacteristically hastily and jogged to my side.

"My lady, you need a chaperone – you can't possibly walk through these dangerous fields alone. Allow me to escort you," he smirked and offered his arm. Smiling slightly, I took it and together we wandered back to the rest of the world, me in a little bubble of ecstasy.

"Damon's leaving for university?" Arianna frowned, when I broke the news to her.

"Uh-huh."

"I suppose it makes sense – he is twenty after all. Are you going to keep in touch?"

"What do you think?" I shot back, playfully hitting her arm. "But I'm not sure it'll be enough. What if he meets someone else in the city? An older woman with more to inherit than me?" I finally voiced my fears, but it I didn't feel as cathartic as I'd hoped I would.

"For God's sake, Lissie! Have you not seen the way he looks at you? And to be perfectly honest, you're not that much younger than him, so there isn't much of a chance of him meeting someone older than you. And do you think he gives a damn about money? We're practically the richest family in Florence – excepting the Salvatores – so it'd be pretty hard for him to find a girl with a bigger inheritance than you. Don't worry!" she said soothingly.

I love Arianna sometimes (all the time), I really do. No one else could possibly reassure me the way she does.

"Are you sure? Okay, okay, I know. You're sure," I mumbled, slightly embarrassed, so I pulled her into a hug to deflect attention from my reddening face.

"Why are you embarrassed, honey? It's perfectly natural to be worried about something like that," she comforted me, like the mother I never had. Or like the person I want my mother to be.

"We should have run away when we had the chance. Well, we still have time now…" I trailed off hopefully, looking up at Damon from his tight embrace.

"Princess, we-I can't. Not now. I owe it to Stefan to not piss Father off anymore. My going away takes some of his focus off Stefan's wedding which makes the whole thing a lot easier for my baby brother," he explained sadly. I sighed and glanced over to the butlers who were loading the grand Salvatore carriage with Damon's trunks. "Are you calling me a baby?" I blurted, lost in my own train of thought. Damon frowned, confused. "What?"

"You just called Stefan your baby brother-"

"That's because he is."

"I know – kind of – but I'm the same age as him so if he's a baby to you, does that mean that I'm a baby to you as well?"

"Has anyone ever told you you're ridiculous?" he laughed, hugging my closer.

"Maybe," I grumbled. Smirking, he continued, "Stefan is my baby brother; I constantly patronise him – have you never noticed?"

"I suppose."

"But you are a beautiful woman-" I blushed. "-who will never be a baby in my eyes. Happy?"

"A bit. But I'm four years your junior so what if you meet a woman at university who's older and…better…than me?"

"So this is what you're worried about. Me running off with another woman." He shook his head and chuckled quietly. "Women don't go to university, darling, they go to finishing school. Where they learn how to stick needles into fabric and how to please their husband," he said, slightly condescendingly.

"Hey! I went to finishing school and I learned….all that useful information. But I played with Stefan for years so don't think I don't know how to hit a boy!" I quipped, elbowing him in the ribs.

"A man, thank you very much."

"Riiiight. You don't turn twenty-one till December; therefore you are still a boy. However, Luigi Russo is twenty-two, I believe…" I wiggled my eyebrows, teasing him.

"I am much more of a man than that slimeball is. If that mutt so much as gets his filthy paws on you, I will rip his head off. And his-" he growled possessively.

"Damon! That's a bit excessively violent, don't you think? I was just joking. I wouldn't go within a hundred miles of that thing. But I can't say the same for his brother…" I said innocently.

"That's not funny," Damon spat, enunciating each word. Seeing his dark expression, I grabbed his hands and held both them and his gaze as I said seriously, "Damon, listen to me. I'm just messing with you – which now I understand I shouldn't have done. I didn't realise that was a sensitive issue for you. You need to know that I…I love you, Damon. And I'm…I'm scared that you'll want someone else when you go so I was just trying to make light of the situation because I really, really don't want you to leave. Even though I've only really known you for about a month, I think I've fallen in love with you, and I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's…it's true."

Suddenly, he dipped me back as if we were dancing and whispered in my ear, "Don't forget the promise I made you on Tuesday, Alicia." Then his lips ghosted mine and before I knew it, he was hugging me protectively. Caught off guard and very distracted, I mumbled, "What promise?" into his shoulder, but before he had time to reply, Giuseppe Salvatore yelled, "Damon! Come say goodbye to Stefan and your old man." Scowling, Damon released me from his bear-like grasp and gazed intently at me oh those sparkling midnight eyes before jogging off to meet his father. I followed him numbly, knowing he was almost gone.

I watched my raven-haired prince give Stefan a brotherly hug, nod at Giuseppe who patted him on the shoulder, and then smile at me sorrowfully before clambering gracefully into the gilded horse-drawn coach. Fighting back tears, I tried to smile at him, but it must have come out more like a grimace because I think I saw him chuckle faintly.

And then he was gone. All that was left was the golden carriage glittering in the midday sun. Then I let the tears fall.

A/N – I don't know when the next update will be but I promise I won't leave it for two whole months (bad Beth, bad Beth) (think 'bad Dobby, bad Dobby' and you'll get what I mean…awkward cyber silence….) Anyway, I also promise that the next chapter will have some more Damony goodness in it – I couldn't leave him out of a whole chapter, it would kill me!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, let me know, if you didn't…ditto. Just hit the little button down there….

Love Beth xxx :)